With Raffles block and Hart at my place. This was a tough one. Convinced the raffles block to split this bottle, after declaring it as being amazing. Stella’s a great winemaker, and the last time I had this same Rosso (albeit diff vintages) was at Blue Hill stone barns. Perhaps this was a bit young, but for a good 2 hours this wine struggled.

Not much nose to speak of. Sharp unpleasant acidity with thin finish. I was embarrassed to have recommended it.

That said, towards the last half glass, the nose suddenly transformed into an aromatic strawberry.

Too bad it came too late, and I was a tad grouchy by then. Expected this to be a 4.4 or 4.5, but it pains me to 3.9 it. Oh well.

Side note, I dream of having the financial capacity to buy one of Stella’s Brunello on a peak year.